Trail Blazers Weekly Recap: 12/21/15-12/27/15

A Weekly Recap of the Trail Blazers Competition

The road hasn’t been friendly to the Blazers this season, emphasized with a 0-5 road trip that ended on Wednesday in New Orleans. Give credit to this team though, because despite All-Star Damian Lillard sidelined all week with injury, the Blazers showed valiant effort and overcame the losing streak to close the week strong. The season seemed to reach a turning point on Saturday with a surprising, yet still awesome victory over Lebron James and the Cavaliers. Let’s break down the week.

Hawks 106 vs. Blazers 97

Why did we lose?

So no Lillard or C.J. McCollum… that’s missing out on their average of 45 points. The Hawks were able to capitalize on this, using their playoff experienced guards to outplay us and pull away in the fourth quarter. Tim Frazier had some solid plays though, providing some nice defense and playmaking ability that made him a star in the D-League. Even Meyers Leonard knocking out Dennis Schroder’s tooth wasn’t enough to get the win.

Improvements?

This one is tough for a game missing your best players. Sure we would like to have had our team play a little better in their leader’s absence, but that’s like asking a backup QB to step up for an injured Tom Brady. That being said, this game was a nice learning experience, because our guards play a lot of minutes and it’s going to wear on them as the season progresses. This won’t be the last time we’re down a star(s) and now we have a better mindset for it.

What did we learn?

We can compete with anyone despite the odds (foreshadowing?). Our team is using the minimal national attention to fly under the radar and surprise teams, especially in the East. I wouldn’t be surprised if every team we play felt this way, and if we want any chance in making the playoffs, we have to use this to our advantage.

Pelicans 115 vs. Blazers 89

Why did we lose?

Dec 23, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard C.J. McCollum (3) shoots over New Orleans Pelicans guard Eric Gordon (10) during the first quarter of a game at the Smoothie King Center. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

This game felt like the Pelicans we’re tired of losing to us and they weren’t going to do it again. Anthony Davis dominated, showcased by his ability to catch and finish ally-oops no matter who was guarding him. McCollum was able to return, but the absence of Lillard was too much to handle. To me, the Pelicans are one of the NBA’s most baffling teams, losing so many games with that much talent on their roster. This game showed how good the Pelicans could be when they play together, as they outplayed us at every position.

Improvements?

The Pelicans are horrible defensively and gave us so many opportunities to make shots. Like so many other games, the Blazers shot very poorly, ending their road trip with a 34.7 FG% in the Smoothie King Center despite numerous open looks. Back in high-school, I’d practice my shooting by using a ball that’s slightly smaller than the diameter of the rim to make the hoop look bigger. I know that seems like a random story but I’m running out of ideas on how to make the Blazers hit open shots in Terry Stotts’ offense.

What did we learn?

We need to put out the fire before it starts. The last minutes of the first half turned the game into a blowout. It’s easy to coast in a 82 game season, especially when you’re looking forward to Christmas back home, but allowing a 10-0 run into halftime changes not only the halftime speech, but your demeanor as well. Maybe it was this demoralizing lost that played into…

Blazers 105 vs. Cavaliers 76

Why did we win?

Improvements?

Allen Crabbe knocked down the shots we need him to make and McCollum registered a +36 to James’ -29. Maybe/hopefully that five game losing streak was the cold shower the Blazers desperately needed in order to realize that they won’t be successful without trusting each other. This was highlighted by the superb passing, with 28 assists compared to nine turnovers.

What did we learn?

This game is such an anomaly that I don’t know what to make of it. We showed we can beat a team as good as the Cavaliers, yet it was such a lopsided victory that it’s hard not to think of it as a fluke game for them. My hope is that the Blazers use this game as a season turner, because the NBA really kicks it into high gear after Christmas, and the Blazers now have a model on how to play in order to turn around their season.

Blazers 98 vs. Kings 94

Dec 27, 2015; Sacramento, CA, USA; Portland Trail Blazers guard C.J. McCollum (3) saves the ball from going out of bounds against Sacramento Kings guard Seth Curry (30) and center Kosta Koufos (41) during the fourth quarter at Sleep Train Arena. The Portland Trail Blazers defeated the Sacramento Kings 98-94. Mandatory Credit: Ed Szczepanski-USA TODAY Sports

Why did we win?

For the first time all season, we get to definitively say that our bench won the game for us. The best came from Leonard and Maurice Harkless who combined for 29 points, but my favorite stat from the game has to be our starting five all registering negative plus/minus numbers and our bench players registering positively. Great game from McCollum as well, almost recording a triple-double with 35 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists.

Improvements?

We escaped despite another abysmal shooting performance. Granted, in the first quarter we went 7-11 from three, however we then went 3-22 the rest of the game. I was also disappointed in Mason Plumlee. Ed Davis sat out this game and all signs pointed to Plumlee having another breakout performance. I’m glad Leonard was able to benefit, but I looked forward to Plumlee taking it to DeMarcus Cousins instead of the other way around.

What did we learn?

As hinted before, we can count on our bench. Crabbe, Harkless and Leonard played exceptional, not only in this game, but all week in the absence of Lillard. These guys, despite not being in the starting lineup, proved our bench is just as important to develop as our starters. The achilles heel of the recent Blazer playoff teams has been the bench, meaning that we should make sure that we never fall into that trap again.

It’s taken until the end of the year, but it looks like these new guys are starting to get comfortable wearing the red and black.